The invention herein relates to a circuit board connector system. It is particularly suited for use in computer systems wherein a series of daughter boards are connected to a mother board. The connector system of this invention enables the daughter boards to be inserted into the connector system readily by the computer user.
Reference is hereby made to my copending patent application entitled "Low Insertion Force Circuit Board Connector Assembly", Ser. No. 554,745, filed Nov. 23, 1983.
It is known to make connections between daughter and mother boards by using pin connectors which are soldered to the respective boards. Alternatively, the pins may be electrically interconnected by a wrap-type connection. It is also known in a general sense to make high density connections between the daughter and mother boards.
There are also a number of schemes which are known to provide zero or low insertion force connections. Typical low insertion force connectors are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,553,630 to Scheingold et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,177 to Lapraik; U.S. Pat. No. 4,047,782 to Yeager; U.S. Pat. No. 3,899,234 to Yeager et al; U.S. Pat. No. 3,130,351 to Giel; U.S. Pat. No. 3,022,481 to Stepoway; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,317 to Walkup. Similar devices are also disclosed in U.K. Patent Applications Nos. 2,028,015A to Ohtsuki and 2,022,329A to Leather.
In the various prior art patents and patent applications noted above, the connector assemblies include opposing rows of spring-type contacts. The low or zero insertion force mechanisms vary to some degree but generally include some mechanism for deflecting the spring contacts to space them apart to allow easy insertion of a printed wiring board to the connector. Thereafter, the contacts are put into engagement with corresponding pads on the printed wiring board to make the desired electrical connections. In some cases, the spring contacts are normally biased towards engagement with the printed circuit board and the low insertion force mechanism spreads them apart to allow entry of the printing wiring board to the connector. In other approaches, the contact members are normally spaced apart and are deflected by the low insertion force mechanism into engagement with the printed wiring board. It is also known to employ cam and follower arrangements as the low insertion force connector mechanism. The cam member is actuable to move the follower member to deflect or close the spring contacts as desired.
The invention described herein provides an electrical connector system which is divided up into a plurality of segments which can be self-aligned to a circuit board. The connector system can be mounted on the circuit board and, with the self-alignment of each segment, be less susceptible to shorting due to tolerance build up.